Gov. Charlie Crist and state emergency management officials are urging residents and visitors to use caution during lightning storms after one person was killed and 27 others were injured near Lakeland on the Fourth of July.

Crist said in a statement released Wednesday that people should have a plan in place and seek shelter at the first sign of severe weather.

About 100 people from a church group were outside playing soccer and volleyball in Lakeland at a gathering Saturday when a lightning bolt or series of strikes hit nearby. Authorities say 30-year-old Benjamin Gonzalez was hit while playing soccer and died at the hospital.

This year, there have been three lightning deaths in Florida. About nine people are killed and 39 injured in Florida each year by lightning.